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Am I the only one who finds it odd Lotus wants you to change brake fluid every year? That is way more frequent than any other vehicle I have owned. Thoughts on why?
The slave cylinder on the Elise/Exige is outside the clutch housing. It's not getting clutch dust inside the fluid. The "clutch dust" people are talking about Chevy's that use concentric slave cylinders inside the clutch housing.IMO it's due to the clutch sharing the same reservoir. If you keep it seperate the fluid lasts much longer. Google clutch dust and you'll read about it.
That would be from the master cylinder piston, cylinder bore walls, or brake caliper pistons if anywhere..Bleed your breaks and you'll see it- tiny metal flakes in your old fluid. The particles work their way past the actuator
On your first point about Chevy's I agree. I have a Corvette and the general consensus it to swap out the fluid, especially if you drag race the car.The slave cylinder on the Elise/Exige is outside the clutch housing. It's not getting clutch dust inside the fluid. The "clutch dust" people are talking about Chevy's that use concentric slave cylinders inside the clutch housing.
The reason the fluid gets dark is a reaction to moisture from the atmosphere being absorbed into the fluid, temperature effects, corrosion effects, and the degradation of the rubber seals.
Changing the fluid often and using a fluid that is rated correctly for the system will help prevent these issues. Using a high temp fluid like Motul RBF will keep the fluid from boiling, but water absorption will still be an issue. Using Castrol SRF would be the ultimate, since it has the highest boiling temp, and absorbs less moisture.